EP1597715A1

EP1597715A1 - Linear displacement system for a driving simulator

Info

Publication number: EP1597715A1
Application number: EP04701926A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Thomas Schulz
Original assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG
Current assignee: Mercedes Benz Group AG
Priority date: 2003-02-26
Filing date: 2004-01-14
Publication date: 2005-11-23
Also published as: US20070018511A1; DE10308059B3; WO2004077380A1; JP2006519402A

Abstract

Disclosed is a linear displacement system (10) for a basal carriage (3) that is mounted on a flat surface (8) so as to be freely displaceable. Said linear displacement system (10) comprises a drive unit (12) for pulling and/or pushing the basal carriage (3) in a controlled manner relative to the surface (8), and a guiding frame (11) which spans the space of movement of the basal carriage (3) in the direction of movement (Y). The inventive linear displacement system (10) further comprises a motor carriage (15) that can be freely displaced on the flat surface (8) and is displaced relative to the guiding frame (11) by means of the drive unit (12). The basal carriage (3) is tied to the motor carriage (15) in a rigid manner or via an articulation (16). Said design of the linear displacement system (10) ensures load alleviation of the guiding frame (11) as heavy components of the drive unit (12) can be shifted to the motor carriage (15) which is supported relative to the surface (8). The linear displacement system (10) is particularly suitable for use in a moving unit (1) of a driving simulator (2) in order to create impressions of movement for test persons.

Description

Linear displacement system for a driving simulator

The invention relates to a linear displacement system for a base slide that can be freely moved on a flat floor surface, in particular as part of a movement unit for a driving simulator, according to the preamble of claim 1, as is known, for example, from (unpublished patent application 101 50 382.2-35).

The (unpublished patent application 101 50 382.2-35) describes a movement system for a driving simulator. The motion system includes a cabin that houses the subject; this cabin is provided with a movably arranged seat and movably arranged operating elements with the aid of which high and medium frequency stimuli are exerted on the test person. The cabin is attached to a turntable, which in turn is carried by a six-axis movement unit. The assembly of the cabin, the turntable and the six-axis movement unit is mounted on a base slide, which is freely displaceably mounted on a flat floor surface and is pulled and / or pushed over this floor surface with the aid of a horizontal displacement device.

The storage of the base slide on the base plate means that the entire weight of the base slide and the structures carried by it bear directly on the base plate, ie without the involvement of the horizontal displacement device. The horizontal shifting device therefore does not need to carry the base slide including the superstructures, but only serves to excite the horizontal movement ie the displacement and acceleration in the horizontal direction - the base slide. This movement concept decouples the function of "carrying" the base carriage from the function of "guiding" the base carriage.

The ¹ horizontal displacement device described in (unpublished patent application 101 50 382.2-35) for pulling / pushing the base carriage on the base plate comprises two linear displacement systems, namely

a first linear displacement system for displacing / accelerating the base slide along a first horizontal axis (Y), and

- A second linear displacement system for displacing / accelerating the assembly of the first linear displacement system and base slide along a second horizontal axis (X), which is approximately perpendicular to the first horizontal axis (Y).

This configuration of the horizontal displacement device allows the movement system to be cascaded, since the horizontal movement takes place by means of two hierarchically connected linear displacement systems. In the exemplary embodiment of (unpublished patent application 101 50 382.2-35), the second linear displacement system is designed as a bridge-like guide frame ("portal bridge" or "traverse") which spans the entire base area transversely to its direction of movement - ie in the Y direction; this guide frame is supported at both ends on rails (or alternative guide means) and is moved and accelerated along these rails with the aid of linear drives in the X direction. The first linear displacement system with a drive unit is integrated in the guide frame, with the aid of which the base slide is displaced or accelerated in the Y direction. The base slide is connected to the first linear displacement system via coupling rods, by means of which twists and swings between the base chute and the guide frame are to be compensated. Due to the integration of the first linear displacement system in the guide frame, this is exposed to considerable weight loads, which can lead to (static and dynamic) deformations of the guide frame. In order not to impair the function of the linear displacement system, only very slight deformations of the guide frame are permitted. Therefore, very high demands are placed on the guide frame - wide range and negligibly small deformations with high weight loads. The associated design and material-engineering challenges can hardly be overcome in practice - especially in the case of large ranges.

The invention is therefore based on the object of designing the first linear displacement system in such a way that the weight of the guide frame is relieved, while the basic slide remains highly stable and the overall system is very stable.

The object is achieved by the features of claim 1.

According to this, the first linear displacement system of the guide frame is provided with an additional component, namely a motor carriage that can be displaced on the same floor surface, to which the base carriage is connected — rigidly or via a joint. The snowmobile is driven by the drive unit of the linear displacement system and is supported on the floor surface; Therefore, (heavy-weight) drive components of the linear displacement system can be shifted from the guide frame to the snowmobile, which leads to a considerable relief of the guide frame. To accelerate the base carriage in the direction of movement of the first linear displacement system, the drive unit of the linear displacement system exerts the required acceleration forces on the motor carriage, which rather, in turn, passes these forces on to the base slide. The snowmobile according to the invention, sliding on the floor surface, therefore performs several functions:

- inclusion of heavy-duty drive components,

- Transfer of forces between the guide frame and base chute in a horizontal direction,

- Support of the base slide in the vertical direction, and

- Counter mass for base slides, which reduces the tendency to tip over.

In order to make displacements and accelerations of the base slide and the motor slide smooth, the friction between the slide and the floor surface must be as low as possible. The carriages are therefore advantageously supported by air bearings and / or air cushions relative to the floor surface (claims 2 and 3). Such an air bearing allows the slides to move freely on the floor surface and is associated with minimal frictional forces between the slides and floor surface. Air bearings are also characterized by high rigidity, which is an important prerequisite for trouble-free sliding of the sled on the floor surface. - Alternatively, base slides and / or snowmobiles can also be mounted against the floor surface via slide bearings or roller bearings.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the base slide is connected to the guide frame not via a single, but via two motor slides arranged offset from one another (claim 4). Two spatially separate, synchronously operated drive units are provided for driving the two motor sleds. This can increase the stability of the overall system, thereby reducing the risk of tipping.

An electromagnetic linear drive is preferably used as the drive unit of the linear displacement system (claim 5). This drive concept has drives (eg belt tension drives) have the advantage of a compact design. Furthermore, the risk of uncoordinated mechanical vibration excitation of the system is largely prevented when using electromagnetic linear drives. Since electromagnetic linear drives do not require intermediate gears, they are also particularly low-friction.

The electromagnetic linear drive is advantageously designed as a synchronous motor (see claim 6). In contrast to the asynchronous motor, in which the opposing field in the secondary coils is generated by induction, ^• the opposing field in the synchronous motor is "permanently installed" in the form of permanent magnets. Synchronous motors have the advantage that the "magnetic air gap" (between the permanent magnets and the primary coils) ) plays a significantly smaller role than with the A-synchronous motor. Therefore, synchronous motors can be operated at comparable forces with a significantly larger "magnetic air gap". In addition, the dependence of the force on fluctuations in the air gap is inherently low. This is particularly advantageous for the controllability in operation and thus for the controllability of the force Reasons all speak for the use of a synchronous motor, but (in principle) the use of asynchronous motors is also possible.

The primary coils (which are heavy in weight) form part of the motor carriage, while the permanent magnets (which are lighter in weight) are integrated in the guide frame. In this way, the guide frame is considerably relieved due to the outsourcing of the primary coils.

In an advantageous embodiment, the permanent magnets of the guide frame have the shape of flat plates or ribs lined up in the direction of displacement (Y) of the linear drive. These panel-like permanent magnets engage in U-shaped primary coils of the motor carriage (attachment Proverb 7). The series of permanent magnets spans the entire range of motion of the linear displacement system. The interlocking permanent magnets / primary coils are advantageously oriented vertically, so that the permanent magnets project vertically downward from the guide frame. This makes the system insensitive to relative movements in the vertical (Z) direction between the guide frame and the snowmobile; furthermore, the bending forces and bending moments that act on the guide frame due to the weight of the permanent magnets are minimized.

In order to guide the snowmobile with high precision relative to the guide frame and to keep the air gap between the primary coil of the snowmobile and the permanent magnets of the guide frame constant, additional air bearings are expediently provided on the snowmobile, with the aid of which the snowmobile is supported and guided relative to the guide frame (Claim 8).

The base carriage is advantageously connected via a swivel joint to the motor carriage (s) (claim 9). In contrast to a rigid coupling between base chutes and snowmobile - which would result in the system being overdetermined - such a joint allows the base slide to be rotated relative to the snowmobile, which can occur as a result of deformation and uneven ground.

The pivot joint, which couples the base slide to the snowmobile, is preferably arranged at the height of the center of gravity of the base slide, carried object and snowmobile (claim 10). With this type of coupling, the X and Y forces transmitted from the motor sled to the base sled are introduced into the base sled at the center of gravity, so that there is a risk of the base sled tipping (due to torques about the X or Y axis ) is minimized. In order to further reduce the risk of the base slide tipping over, it is advantageous to also support the side of the base slide facing away from the motor slide against the base surface. For this purpose, a head carrier, which is coupled to the base carriage via a swivel joint and is slidably mounted on the floor surface, is used (claim 11). In addition, the head carrier can be supported via coupling elements with respect to the base slide (claim 12).

In the following the invention with reference to ^"a in the drawings, the illustrated embodiment will be explained: FIG.

1 shows a schematic view, not to scale, of a base slide coupled to a guide frame by means of motor slides ... FIG. 1 a ... in a sectional illustration and FIG. 1 b ... in a top view;

Fig. 2 is a detailed view of the snowmobile

2a ... in a perspective view,

Fig. 2b ... in a sectional view and

Fig. 2c ... in a supervision.

Figures la and lb show a schematic representation of a section of a movement system 1 for a driving simulator 2 for generating movement impressions on a test person. The movement system 1 comprises a base slide 3, on which a six-axis movement unit 4, a turntable

5 and a cabin 6 are arranged. With the help of the six-axis movement unit 4 and the turntable 5, the cabin can

6 in all six degrees of freedom (three translational degrees of freedom and three rotary degrees of freedom) can be moved relative to the base slide 3. For controlled displacement and acceleration of the assembly of basic chutes 3, six-axis movement unit 4, turntable 5 and cabin 6 along the two horizontal axes X and Y, the movement system 1 of the driving simulator 2 further comprises a horizontal displacement device 7, which spans a large movement space (of 20 meters and more) both in the X and Y directions and with the aid of these low-frequency movement impressions can be exercised on the test person. With regard to a detailed description of the movement system 1 and its components, reference is made to (unpublished patent application 101 50 382.2-35), the disclosure content of which is hereby incorporated into this application.

In order to be able to apply the speeds and accelerations required for different driving maneuvers in high resolution and quality, the base slide 3 with the load 4, 5, 6 attached to it - which in total weighs several tons - must be mounted with as little friction as possible against the floor surface 8. In the exemplary embodiment in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, this is realized by an air bearing 9 of the base slide 3 relative to the base surface 8.

The horizontal displacement device 7 of the driving simulator movement system 1 consists of two linear displacement systems which are arranged orthogonally to one another with respect to their directions of movement. With the aid of a first linear displacement system 10, the base slide 3 together with the components 4, 5, 6 arranged thereon is displaced and accelerated in the Y direction. With the aid of a further second linear displacement system (not shown in the figures), the assembly of the base slide 3 and the first linear displacement system 10 is displaced and accelerated along the X direction.

The first linear displacement system 10 comprises a guide frame 11 — hereinafter also referred to as “traverse” 11 — which spans the entire movement space of the base slide 3 in the Y direction. In the application case of the driving simulator movement system 1 described here, the traverse 11 is in the X direction movable and becomes with the help of the second (in the figures not shown) linear displacement system controlled accelerated and shifted in the X direction. In order to reduce the deflection under its own weight while at the same time minimizing the installation space requirement in the vertical (Z) direction, the crossmember 11 can be supported against the base surface 8 by means of a plurality of supports 13 distributed in the Y direction, in addition to end feet. The supports 13 are supported against the floor surface 8 via air bearings 14 or air slide cushion elements in order to ensure that the crossmember 11 can be moved with little friction in the X direction. The position and rigidity of the supports 13 are determined from the point of view of vibration engineering. - If a displacement in the X direction is not required, the crossmember 11 can be mounted stationary relative to the bottom surface 8.

For linear displacement of the base slide 3 in the Y direction, a drive unit 12 is provided on the crossmember 11, by means of which the base slide 3 is pulled and / or pulled in a controlled manner in the Y direction. However, in contrast to that in (unpublished patent application 101 50 382.2-35), the base slide 3 is not connected to the drive unit via coupling rods, but the base slide 3 is driven according to the invention with the aid of a (shown in FIG. 2a in a perspective view ) Motor carriage 15, which is moved and accelerated with the aid of the drive unit 12 along the crossmember 11 and to which the base carriage 3 is coupled via a joint 16. The motor carriage 15 is freely displaceable relative to the bottom surface 8 via air bearings 17.

The drive unit 12 is formed by an electromagnetic linear direct drive 18. The principle of operation of such a drive 18 corresponds to a "developed" electric motor. Electromagnetic linear drives have the advantage of being able to do without the use of mechanically moved power transmission elements or gears. On the one hand, this improves the quality of the movement representation, since the friction in the system - In particular when using air bearings 14, 17 as supporting and guiding elements - is minimal. On the other hand, availability increases because there are no wear-prone components (such as gears or steel belts) that make frequent maintenance intervals necessary. - As an alternative to an electromagnetic linear direct drive 18, however, a belt drive or the like can also be used if required.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the drive unit 12 is formed by synchronous motors 19 with permanent magnets 20 and primary coils 21. The primary coils 21 are integrated in the motor carriage 15. This can be seen from FIG. 2b, while the primary coils 21 are not shown in FIG. 2a for reasons of clarity. The motor carriage 15 has four primary coils 21 which are aligned parallel to the crossbar 11 (i.e. parallel to the direction of movement Y) and form two coil packs 22 lying parallel to one another. In each coil package 22 between the two associated individual coils 21 there is a slot-like cavity 23 which is open at the top and into which the permanent magnets 20 attached to the crossmember 11 engage. The permanent magnets 20 in turn have the shape of flat, flat plates 24 or ribs and are attached to the crossmember 11 in two rows running parallel to one another and oriented such that they project downwards in the vertical (Z) direction.

The clear width of the cavities 23 is matched to the layer thickness of the magnetic plates 24 in such a way that an air gap is provided between the primary coils 21 and the magnetic plates 24: since the amount of this air gap has a great influence on the strength of the induced currents and thus on the resultant Motor force, this air gap should be as small as possible to ensure a sufficient power density of the motor. However, a small air gap can only be realized if the movement of the motor carriage 15 takes place in a highly precise manner parallel to the permanent magnets 20 of the crossmember 11. This highly precise leadership of the motor carriage 15 with respect to the crossmember 11 is achieved in the present exemplary embodiment by two pairs of air bearings 25 which are arranged offset with respect to one another in the Y direction and which engage on a flat guide rail 26 formed on the crossmember 11. As can be seen from FIG. 2b, the permanent magnets 20 are connected directly to the guide rail 26; this spatial proximity of the drive motor 12 to the air bearing guides 25, 26 ensures that the primary coils 21 of the motor carriage 15 can be guided with high precision with respect to the magnetic plates 24 of the crossmember 11, so that a small air gap is realized without the risk of collisions can be.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the base slide 3 is connected to the crossmember 11 with the aid of two motor slides 15, 15 '. The two motor slides 15, 15 'are offset from one another on the crossmember 11 by a distance 27. Through a synchronized excitation of the coil packs 21 of the two motor slides 15, 15 ', the associated drive units 12, 12' are operated synchronously, so that the two motor slides 15, 15 'move back and forth on the crossbar 11 in synchronism with one another.

The coupling of the base carriage 3 to the motor carriage 15, 15 'is effected via swivel joints 16, 16'. Since these two joints 16, 16 'are arranged offset from one another in the Y direction by the distance 27, this arrangement effectively prevents rotary movements of the base slide 3 about the vertical (Z) axis. The height 28 of the swivel joints 16, 16 'relative to the base surface 8 (and thus the height 28 at which the base carriage 3 is coupled to the motor carriage 15, 15') is selected such that it corresponds to the height of the center of gravity (working point) of the Assembly of base unit 3, six-axis movement unit 4 and turntable 5 and cabin 6 corresponds. As a result, the forces introduced by the motor slides 15, 15 'into the base slides 3 act precisely at the center of gravity 28, so that tilting and pivoting movements about the horizontal X and Y axes can be minimized. This coupling of the base slide 3 to the crossbar with the aid of two motor slides 15, 15 'reduces the susceptibility of the overall system to rotary, tilting and pivoting movements in all three spatial axes.

To further stabilize the overall system 1, the base carriage 3 is provided on its side 29 opposite the motor carriage 15, 15 'with a so-called “head support” 30. The head support 30 is freely displaceably supported on the base surface 8 via an air bearing 31 and is supported by a ( Rotation around the X-axis) allows the swivel joint 32 to be connected to the base slide 3. The linear expansions of the head support 30 in the Y direction ensure additional stabilization of the base slide 3 with superstructures 4, 5, 6 against tilting and rolling movements the ends 33 of the head support 30 are connected to the base carriage 3 by means of coupling rods 34 on the head support 30. The connection points of the coupling rods 34 and the swivel joint 32 to the base slide 3 are preferably located at height 28 of the center of mass.

For roll stabilization, the swivel joint 32 can be provided with an active or a passive spring / damping element with or without an end stop, which returns the base slide 3 to the original position in the event of rotational deflections. When an active roll stabilization of the base slide 3 is used, 3 sensors are attached to the base slide, which detect roll and tilt deflections of the base slide 3 and lock the swivel joint 32 in the event of an impending tilt.

If the base carriage 3 is connected to the guide frame 11 via motor carriage 15 and a head support 30 is further provided, the base carriage 3 can be supported relative to the floor surfaces 8 exclusively via the air bearings 17.31 of the motor carriage 15 and the head support 31, so that the (additional) air position shown in FIG. tion 9 on the underside of the base carriage 3 can be omitted.

In addition to the application example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which the special case of a movement system 1 for a driving simulator 2 is described, the linear displacement system 10 according to the invention is suitable for a wide range of other applications in which a load 4, 5, 6 is highly accurate and low-friction to be moved relative to a base plate 8.

Claims

claims

1. Linear displacement system (10). for a base slide (3) mounted freely displaceably on a flat floor surface (8), in particular as part of a movement unit (1) for a driving simulator (2) for generating movement impressions on test persons,

- The linear displacement system (10) comprises a drive unit (12) for the controlled pulling and / or pushing of the base slide (3) relative to the base surface (8),

- And wherein the linear displacement system (10) comprises a guide frame (11), which spans the movement space of the base slide (3) in the direction of movement (Y), that is to say, that means,

- That the linear displacement system (10) has a freely movable on the flat bottom surface (8) motor carriage (15), which with the help of the drive unit

(12) relative to the guide frame (11) is displaceable

- And that the base carriage (3) is rigidly or via a joint (16) to the motor carriage (15).

2. Linear displacement system according to claim 1, characterized in that the base slide (3) via air bearings (9) and / or air cushions against the bottom surface (8) is mounted.

3. Linear displacement system according to claim 1 or 2, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the motor carriage (15) via air bearings (17) and / or air cushions against the bottom surface (8) is mounted.

4. Linear displacement system according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the base slide (3) is connected to two staggered motor slides (15, 15 '), both of which are synchronous with respect to one another with the aid of a drive unit (12, 12') Guide frame (11) are displaceable.

5. Linear displacement system according to one of claims 1 to 4, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the drive unit (12) is an electromagnetic linear drive (18).

6. The linear displacement system as claimed in claim 5, so that the electromagnetic linear drive (18) is designed as a synchronous drive (19),

- With at least one primary coil (21) integrated in the motor carriage (15)

- And several permanent magnets 20) integrated in the guide frame (11).

7. Linear displacement system according to claim 6, characterized in that the permanent magnets (20) of the guide frame (11) are designed as flat panels (24) which are aligned in a row along the direction of displacement (Y) of the linear drive (18) and of two in Motor carriage (15) integrated primary coils (21) are encompassed on both sides.

8. Linear displacement system according to one of claims 1 to 7, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the motor carriage (15) is supported and guided with the aid of an air bearing (25) relative to the guide frame (11).

9. Linear displacement system according to one of claims 1 to 8, d a d u r c h g e k e n n z e i c h n e t that the base carriage (3) via a swivel joint (16) is connected to the motor carriage (3).

10. Linear displacement system according to claim 9, characterized in that the swivel joint is arranged at a height (28) which is the height of the center of gravity of the assembly of the base slide (3) and a load (4, 5, 6) arranged on the base slide (3). equivalent.

11. Linear displacement system according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the base carriage (3) on the side or the motor carriage (15, 15 ') facing away (29) via a rotary joint (32) with one opposite the bottom surface (8) slidably mounted head support (30) is connected.

12. Linear displacement system according to claim 11, so that the head support (30) is supported via coupling elements (33) with respect to the base slide (3).

, oOo.